New York Convention

Tourists who visit the Big Apple are 34 percent more likely to die of a heart attack than visitors to other cities, says a researcher. And New York residents are 55 percent more likely to die of a heart attack in their hometown than people living in other U.S. cities, says psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld of the University of California at San Diego. New Yorkers' risk of dying of a heart attack drops by 20 percent when they are outside the city. Christenfeld, who is to present...

Paul L. Beltz, 79, a photographer and a convention booker, died Monday, Sept. 17, in St. Joseph's Hospital of complications associated with colon cancer. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlantic City, Mr. Beltz learned photography as a child from his father, "practically before he could walk," said his daughter, Ellin. Mr. Beltz married Patricia Ann Domer in 1942. During World War II, he and his wife worked as volunteers in a bomb factory, putting in fuses by hand. Mr. Beltz then worked as a freelance news...

New York City is one of the world's centers for music-all kinds of music. A Music Trail guide lists not only the city's nightclubs, concert halls and performing arts centers, but also landmarks like Tin Pan Alley, the street of songwriters, and the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, where a young Sinatra had 'em swooning. Also available free is "Only in New York," a guide to the city's biggest, best and brightest attractions; "Hotel Guide," which includes rates and deals; and the visitors packet, which...

Planning a trip to New York? For a long listing of events, visit the visitors bureau Web site at www.nycvisit.com. The bureau's phone number is 212-484-1222. As usual, hotel space will be at a premium, especially on weekends in December. Many of the better hotels will have a two-day minimum booking requirement, though they may waive that if they have rooms available at the last minute. The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau touts a peak season hotel hotline at 800-846-7666, which is...

Planning a trip to New York? For a long listing of events, visit the visitors bureau Web site at www.nycvisit.com. The bureau's phone number is 212-484-1222. As usual, hotel space will be at a premium, especially on weekends in December. Many of the better hotels will have a two-day minimum booking requirement, though they may waive that if they have rooms available at the last minute. The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau touts a peak season hotel hotline at 800-846-7666, which is...

Tourists who visit the Big Apple are 34 percent more likely to die of a heart attack than visitors to other cities, says a researcher. And New York residents are 55 percent more likely to die of a heart attack in their hometown than people living in other U.S. cities, says psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld of the University of California at San Diego. New Yorkers' risk of dying of a heart attack drops by 20 percent when they are outside the city. Christenfeld, who is to present...

Paul L. Beltz, 79, a photographer and a convention booker, died Monday, Sept. 17, in St. Joseph's Hospital of complications associated with colon cancer. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlantic City, Mr. Beltz learned photography as a child from his father, "practically before he could walk," said his daughter, Ellin. Mr. Beltz married Patricia Ann Domer in 1942. During World War II, he and his wife worked as volunteers in a bomb factory, putting in fuses by hand. Mr. Beltz then worked as a freelance news...

With great optimism and remarkable self-assurance, a new generation of jazz artists made itself heard at the annual JazzTimes Convention, which closed Sunday in Manhattan. Saxophonists, pianists, singers, trumpeters, drummers, you-name-it, played with undeniable musical conviction and technical command. And though some proved more convincing and original than others, the mere sight-and sound-of so many fiercely committed players in their 20s and 30s had to inspire...

From now until Aug. 18, Chicago Bears fans can see their favorite players grunt and groan at the team's summer training camp at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. To attract and accommodate fans, 70-plus lodging facilities in Jo Daviess County and Galena are offering discounts and other amenities to Bears fans. Galena, in northwestern Illinois, is a 20-30 minute drive from Platteville. Besides scrimmages during the two-practice-a-day camp, fans can tour the antiques stores, galleries and museums in Galena,...

New York City is one of the world's centers for music-all kinds of music. A Music Trail guide lists not only the city's nightclubs, concert halls and performing arts centers, but also landmarks like Tin Pan Alley, the street of songwriters, and the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, where a young Sinatra had 'em swooning. Also available free is "Only in New York," a guide to the city's biggest, best and brightest attractions; "Hotel Guide," which includes rates and deals; and the visitors packet, which...

Ten historic homes will be open to the public during the 30th annual Heritage Hill Weekend Tour of Homes in Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 7 and 8. The festivities, however, will get underway with A Taste of Grand Rapids from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Grand Rapids City Center. The historic homes will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Among the homes open is one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Heritage Hill District covers 365 acres...

"Slipping into madness is good for the sake of comparison." While that might sound like an offbeat new marketing gambit by the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, the aphorism, displayed on a theater marquee, is just one element of what may be the weirdest, if most eerily appropriate, art exhibit in town. It's currently playing on West 42nd Street, the legendary street of dreams that drugs, prostitution and petty crime turned into a street of sleaze. The ongoing massive...

"Slipping into madness is good for the sake of comparison." While that might sound like an offbeat new marketing gambit by the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, the aphorism, displayed on a theater marquee, is just one element of what may be the weirdest, if most eerily appropriate, art exhibit in town. It's currently playing on West 42nd Street, the legendary street of dreams that drugs, prostitution and petty crime turned into a street of sleaze. The ongoing massive...

Ten historic homes will be open to the public during the 30th annual Heritage Hill Weekend Tour of Homes in Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 7 and 8. The festivities, however, will get underway with A Taste of Grand Rapids from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Grand Rapids City Center. The historic homes will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Among the homes open is one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Heritage Hill District covers 365 acres...

With great optimism and remarkable self-assurance, a new generation of jazz artists made itself heard at the annual JazzTimes Convention, which closed Sunday in Manhattan. Saxophonists, pianists, singers, trumpeters, drummers, you-name-it, played with undeniable musical conviction and technical command. And though some proved more convincing and original than others, the mere sight-and sound-of so many fiercely committed players in their 20s and 30s had to inspire...

From now until Aug. 18, Chicago Bears fans can see their favorite players grunt and groan at the team's summer training camp at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. To attract and accommodate fans, 70-plus lodging facilities in Jo Daviess County and Galena are offering discounts and other amenities to Bears fans. Galena, in northwestern Illinois, is a 20-30 minute drive from Platteville. Besides scrimmages during the two-practice-a-day camp, fans can tour the antiques stores, galleries and museums in Galena,...

Republican leaders announced Thursday that the delegations to the upcoming Republican National Convention will be the most ethnically diverse in party history. Seventeen percent of the delegates and alternates at the New York convention will be minorities, up from the 9 percent at the party's 2000 national convention in Philadelphia. The percentage increases--including 65 percent for black delegates--are relatively large because the raw numbers are relatively small as Republicans...

As it hosts Artropolis this weekend in Chicago, Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. is looking ahead to expanding its art fair business now that it has been picked to redevelop a New York City convention site. The Mart and its parent, Vornado Realty Trust, said this week that it signed a 49-year lease with New York City to renovate, expand and manage Piers 94 and 92 on the West Side. The Mart produces two shows on Pier 94, including the Armory Show of new works by living artists. As previously...